Counting on Naamah: A Mathematical Tale on Noah’s Ark by Erica Lyons (Illustrated by Mary Reaves Uhles); Seattle, Washington: Intergalactic Afikoman; (c) 2023; ISBN 9781951-365189; 40 pages; $19.99.
SAN DIEGO — There are many enjoyable extrapolations, known as midrashes, on the Biblical story of Noah. Here comes another one, this time to familiarize children between the ages of 4 and 8 with mathematical concepts while delighting them with stories of animals at work and play on the famous Ark.
In this case we learn that Noah’s wife, unnamed in the Torah but called “Naamah” by popular tradition, was a whiz at mathematics who helped Noah figure out the interior design of the Ark and also invented an at-sea deck-athlon (pun intended), including a 32-cubit ramp race, sling shots into the ocean; wrestling, archery and swimming.
As the story is told, we read such math terms as “multiples of two,” “divide,” “adding up,” “counted,” “factored,” “calculated,” “balanced,” “best possible order,” “multiply,” “long,” “number one,” “measured,” “seven,” “higher power,” “proportions,” “average,” “greater,” “prime,” “odds,” “volume,” “tallied,” “data,” and “pie chart.”
All that plus drawings of animals engaging in anthropomorphic activities is bound to bring your elementary school student back for reading after reading.
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Donald H. Harrison is editor emeritus of San Diego Jewish World. He may be contacted via donald.harrison@sdjewishworld.com